Atlas Biblica

    Genesis · 67 verses

    Genesis 24

    Every verse links to the people and places named in it, and to the passages readers connect it with.

    The chapter

    What happens here

    Atlas's own reading, written from this chapter and nothing else, and published only once a person has approved it. Each scene names the verses it covers; the names inside it link to the people and places they name.

    The servant’s prayer is answered before he has finished asking: Rebekah arrives, says precisely the words he had hoped for, and then sets about watering ten thirsty camels. The errand has scarcely begun, and the answer is already carrying a jar.

    An oath, ten camels, and an alarmingly precise prayervv. 1–14

    Abraham, old and richly blessed, sends his chief servant away from Canaan to find Isaac a wife among his own kindred, with one firm prohibition: Isaac must not be taken back there. The servant travels with ten camels and a cargo of good things, stopping at evening by the spring outside Nahor’s hometown in Aram-naharaim. There he proposes a test so exact that it sounds less like casual matchmaking than a small piece of liturgy: the chosen woman will offer him water and then volunteer to water the camels as well. The camels, for their part, have been handed an unexpectedly important role.

    Rebekah does the impossible amount of wateringvv. 15–61

    Before the servant has finished praying, Rebekah appears with her jar. She gives him a drink, then draws water for all the camels until they have had enough—a considerable afternoon’s work, though the chapter lets the servant stand silently and watch. The gold ring and bracelets bring the family running, especially Laban, who notices the jewellery with admirable speed. At the house, a meal is laid out, but the servant refuses to eat until he has recited the whole commission, the prayer, and the result. Laban and Bethuel agree that the matter is from the LORD; Rebekah is asked, and answers for herself: she will go. Gifts are distributed, blessings are spoken, and the new household sets out by camel.

    A veil in the fieldvv. 62–67

    Isaac is living in the Negeb when the camels come into view. He goes out into the field in the evening and sees Rebekah approaching; Rebekah sees him, asks who he is, and covers herself with her veil. The servant reports everything. Isaac brings Rebekah into Sarah’s tent, takes her as his wife, and loves her. The long journey ends not with a speech but with comfort after Sarah’s death.

    The text

    Read it

    Berean Standard Bible, public domain. Names the Hebrew and Greek put in the verse link to the person, place or people they name; the address beside each verse is a link to that verse, which is what a reader copies and shares.

    1. Gen 24:1By now Abraham was old and well along in years, and the LORD had blessed him in every way.

    2. Gen 24:2So Abraham instructed the chief servant of his household, who managed all he owned, “Place your hand under my thigh,

    3. Gen 24:3and I will have you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I am dwelling,

    4. Gen 24:4but will go to my country and my kindred to take a wife for my son Isaac.”

    5. Gen 24:5The servant asked him, “What if the woman is unwilling to follow me to this land? Shall I then take your son back to the land from which you came?”

    6. Gen 24:6Abraham replied, “Make sure that you do not take my son back there.

    7. Gen 24:7The LORD, the God of heaven, who brought me from my father’s house and my native land, who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, ‘To your offspring I will give this land’—He will send His angel before you so that you can take a wife for my son from there.

    8. Gen 24:8And if the woman is unwilling to follow you, then you are released from this oath of mine. Only do not take my son back there.”

    9. Gen 24:9So the servant placed his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and swore an oath to him concerning this matter.

    10. Gen 24:10Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed with all manner of good things from his master in hand. And he set out for Nahor’s hometown in Aram-naharaim.

    11. Gen 24:11As evening approached, he made the camels kneel down near the well outside the town at the time when the women went out to draw water.

    12. Gen 24:12“O LORD, God of my master Abraham,” he prayed, “please grant me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham.

    13. Gen 24:13Here I am, standing beside the spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water.

    14. Gen 24:14Now may it happen that the girl to whom I say, ‘Please let down your jar that I may drink,’ and who responds, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels as well’—let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. By this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master.”

    15. Gen 24:15Before the servant had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah, the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor.

    16. Gen 24:16Now the girl was very beautiful, a virgin who had not had relations with any man. She went down to the spring, filled her jar, and came up again.

    17. Gen 24:17So the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please let me have a little water from your jar.”

    18. Gen 24:18“Drink, my lord,” she replied, and she quickly lowered her jar to her hands and gave him a drink.

    19. Gen 24:19After she had given him a drink, she said, “I will also draw water for your camels, until they have had enough to drink.”

    20. Gen 24:20And she quickly emptied her jar into the trough and ran back to the well to draw water, until she had drawn water for all his camels.

    21. Gen 24:21Meanwhile, the man watched her silently to see whether or not the LORD had made his journey a success.

    22. Gen 24:22And after the camels had finished drinking, he took out a gold ring weighing a beka, and two gold bracelets for her wrists weighing ten shekels.

    23. Gen 24:23“Whose daughter are you?” he asked. “Please tell me, is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?”

    24. Gen 24:24She replied, “I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son that Milcah bore to Nahor.”

    25. Gen 24:25Then she added, “We have plenty of straw and feed, as well as a place for you to spend the night.”

    26. Gen 24:26Then the man bowed down and worshiped the LORD,

    27. Gen 24:27saying, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not withheld His kindness and faithfulness from my master. As for me, the LORD has led me on the journey to the house of my master’s relatives.”

    28. Gen 24:28The girl ran and told her mother’s household about these things.

    29. Gen 24:29Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban, and he rushed out to the man at the spring.

    30. Gen 24:30As soon as he saw the ring, and the bracelets on his sister’s wrists, and heard Rebekah’s words, “The man said this to me,” he went and found the man standing by the camels near the spring.

    31. Gen 24:31“Come, you who are blessed by the LORD,” said Laban. “Why are you standing out here? I have prepared the house and a place for the camels.”

    32. Gen 24:32So the man came to the house, and the camels were unloaded. Straw and feed were brought to the camels, and water to wash his feet and the feet of his companions.

    33. Gen 24:33Then a meal was set before the man, but he said, “I will not eat until I have told you what I came to say.” So Laban said, “Please speak.”

    34. Gen 24:34“I am Abraham’s servant,” he replied.

    35. Gen 24:35“The LORD has greatly blessed my master, and he has become rich. He has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, menservants and maidservants, camels and donkeys.

    36. Gen 24:36My master’s wife Sarah has borne him a son in her old age, and my master has given him everything he owns.

    37. Gen 24:37My master made me swear an oath and said, ‘You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites in whose land I dwell,

    38. Gen 24:38but you shall go to my father’s house and to my kindred to take a wife for my son.’

    39. Gen 24:39Then I asked my master, ‘What if the woman will not come back with me?’

    40. Gen 24:40And he told me, ‘The LORD, before whom I have walked, will send His angel with you and make your journey a success, so that you may take a wife for my son from my kindred and from my father’s house.

    41. Gen 24:41And when you go to my kindred, if they refuse to give her to you, then you will be released from my oath.’

    42. Gen 24:42So when I came to the spring today, I prayed: O LORD, God of my master Abraham, if only You would make my journey a success!

    43. Gen 24:43Here I am, standing beside this spring. Now if a maiden comes out to draw water and I say to her, ‘Please let me drink a little water from your jar,’

    44. Gen 24:44and she replies, ‘Drink, and I will draw water for your camels as well,’ may she be the woman the LORD has appointed for my master’s son.

    45. Gen 24:45And before I had finished praying in my heart, there was Rebekah coming out with her jar on her shoulder, and she went down to the spring and drew water. So I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’

    46. Gen 24:46She quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels as well.’ So I drank, and she also watered the camels.

    47. Gen 24:47Then I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ She replied, ‘The daughter of Bethuel son of Nahor, whom Milcah bore to him.’ So I put the ring on her nose and the bracelets on her wrists.

    48. Gen 24:48Then I bowed down and worshiped the LORD; and I blessed the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who led me on the right road to take the granddaughter of my master’s brother for his son.

    49. Gen 24:49Now if you will show kindness and faithfulness to my master, tell me; but if not, let me know, so that I may go elsewhere.”

    50. Gen 24:50Laban and Bethuel answered, “This is from the LORD; we have no choice in the matter.

    51. Gen 24:51Rebekah is here before you. Take her and go, and let her become the wife of your master’s son, just as the LORD has decreed.”

    52. Gen 24:52When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed down to the ground before the LORD.

    53. Gen 24:53Then he brought out jewels of silver and gold, and articles of clothing, and he gave them to Rebekah. He also gave precious gifts to her brother and her mother.

    54. Gen 24:54Then he and the men with him ate and drank and spent the night there. When they got up the next morning, he said, “Send me on my way to my master.”

    55. Gen 24:55But her brother and mother said, “Let the girl remain with us ten days or so. After that, she may go.”

    56. Gen 24:56But he replied, “Do not delay me, since the LORD has made my journey a success. Send me on my way so that I may go to my master.”

    57. Gen 24:57So they said, “We will call the girl and ask her opinion.”

    58. Gen 24:58They called Rebekah and asked her, “Will you go with this man?” “I will go,” she replied.

    59. Gen 24:59So they sent their sister Rebekah on her way, along with her nurse and Abraham’s servant and his men.

    60. Gen 24:60And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, “Our sister, may you become the mother of thousands upon thousands. May your offspring possess the gates of their enemies.”

    61. Gen 24:61Then Rebekah and her servant girls got ready, mounted the camels, and followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and left.

    62. Gen 24:62Now Isaac had just returned from Beer-lahai-roi, for he was living in the Negev.

    63. Gen 24:63Early in the evening, Isaac went out to the field to meditate, and looking up, he saw the camels approaching.

    64. Gen 24:64And when Rebekah looked up and saw Isaac, she got down from her camel

    65. Gen 24:65and asked the servant, “Who is that man in the field coming to meet us?” “It is my master,” the servant answered. So she took her veil and covered herself.

    66. Gen 24:66Then the servant told Isaac all that he had done.

    67. Gen 24:67And Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah and took Rebekah as his wife. And Isaac loved her and was comforted after his mother’s death.

    01 — Also here

    Who else the chapter reaches

    Names written in the English are linked in the text above. These are the ones that are not: an entity the Hebrew or Greek names under a spelling the translation does not use, or one reached only by an assertion about a verse of this chapter.

    Named in the Hebrew or Greek somewhere in this chapter, under a form the English renders differently — the registry's Ludim against the translation's Ludites — so there is no word in the sentence to hang the link on.

    Reached by an assertion Atlas extracted from a verse of this chapter rather than by a name written in it — a pronoun, a title, or a participant the sentence carries without naming. This layer is model-read and measured at 88.6–90.3% precision, and it is kept separate from the names above for that reason.

    02 — Read alongside

    Where this is echoed

    Readers' own connections, from OpenBible's crowd-voted cross-references — agreement about relevance, and not scholarly confidence. 549 passages were voted onto 62 verses of this chapter; the 16 shown lead on votes, and each is listed at the verse it was voted onto most strongly.

    • 60Genesis 22:17I will surely bless you, and I will multiply your descendants like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will possess the gates of their enemies.
    • 35Genesis 24:1By now Abraham was old and well along in years, and the LORD had blessed him in every way.
    • 35Genesis 13:2And Abram had become extremely wealthy in livestock and silver and gold.
    • 35Psalms 107:38He blesses them, and they multiply greatly; He does not let their herds diminish.
    • 35Proverbs 10:22The blessing of the LORD enriches, and He adds no sorrow to it.
    • 40Exodus 23:20Behold, I am sending an angel before you to protect you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared.
    • 50Psalms 118:23This is from the LORD, and it is marvelous in our eyes.
    • 60Genesis 17:16And I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will descend from her.”
    • 1Psalms 112:1–3Hallelujah! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in His commandments.
    • 2Genesis 47:29When the time drew near for Israel to die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, put your hand under my thigh and promise to show me kindness and faithfulness. Do not bury me in Egypt,
    • 3Genesis 26:34–35When Esau was forty years old, he took as his wives Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite and Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite.
    • 14Judges 6:37then behold, I will place a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that You are going to save Israel by my hand, as You have said.”
    • 27Genesis 24:48Then I bowed down and worshiped the LORD; and I blessed the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who led me on the right road to take the granddaughter of my master’s brother for his son.
    • 35Matthew 6:33But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.
    • 1Galatians 3:9So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
    • 32 Corinthians 6:14–17Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership can righteousness have with wickedness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness?

    Onward

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